May, 16, 2017 RIEDEL SUES M&S OVER ‘SOMMELIER’ GLASSWARE

(TDB) - Austrian glassmaker Riedel has brought a lawsuit against UK retailer Marks & Spencer for what it calls infringement of its trademark. Riedel’s owner, Tiroler Glashütte, has reportedly filed a lawsuit against M&S over the latter’s ‘Sommelier’ rang...

May, 16, 2017 La Niña brings hot and early 2017 harvest for Chile

(Decanter) - It's been a year that has kept many winemakers on their toes and yields are set to be small in several areas. ‘It has been the earliest harvest I remember,’ said winemaker Marcelo Retamal, comparing 2017 to the last two decades of Chilean vintages. Chile’s 2017 ...

May, 16, 2017 Another DRC Faker Bites the Dust

(Wine-Searcher) - A man behind a $2 million-plus fake wine scheme gets his comeuppance in a French court. In a case with echoes of the notorious conman Rudy Kurniawan, a Russian man has been jailed and ordered to pay huge fines for selling counterfeit bottles of Burgundy – includin...

May, 16, 2017 The lost vine of Chilean Patagonia identified by DNA profiling

(AndesWines) - In 1953, Maria Margarita Mancilla Sánchez left her small village on Lake Puelo (Northern Patagonia, Chile) with her eight young children to establish a rudimentary house in the El Salto Valley, where they lived a secluded life until 1994. This valley was later transformed into...

May, 16, 2017 Let’s Be Clear: Bad Wines Are Bad Wines, Period

(NYTimes) - If you drink bad wine long enough, will that eventually lead to drinking good wine? No, I don’t think so. Still, a couple of wine writers have recently tried to make the case that bad wine should be tolerated, if not embraced. They argue that it can’t be entirely bad...

May, 15, 2017 Labor shortage hits hard in Sonoma County

(PD) - The advent of wildflowers and warm weather typically heralds the coming of summer. But for hotel manager Percy Brandon, it signals that he’s about to lose workers. “Landscapers and dishwashers are the first ones to leave,” said Brandon, general manager of the Vintne...

May, 14, 2017 The 10 Most Searched-for Burgundies

(Wine-Searcher) - We continue our look at the world's most popular wines with a visit to wine's most hallowed ground. Speak of dream wines and the great names of Bordeaux, Barolo and Napa will often spring to mind but, for wines you can only dream about, Burgundy is in a class of its own. Sma...

May, 14, 2017 Rosé Shines Through Red Wines' Dominance

(Wines&Vines) - Red wine varieties have been dominating domestic wine sales, which increased 4% in April 2017 compared to the same month a year earlier. But the growth fueled by Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and myriad red blends pales next to double-digit growth in rosé wines.  ...